The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-07-30
onnld resist NO loneer. Grasnina

l could resist no longer. Grasping a
small night lamp and a srotesque earthen
water bottle from my table, l rushed into
the night. 1t was intensely dark, and the
wind was rising The streets of the village
were nearly deserted, and the few people
met were passed unrecognized as hur-
ried on, driven by an irresistible impulse
And yet, above the chaos of my thoughts,
felt that my brain was clear.
Ipaused on the summit of hill outside
the town and looked back. The lights from
the village dotted the low background like
far off watch fires; a bell struck the hour.
and the sound came floating out of the dis
tance, weird and wailing. To the west a
thin red line marked the horizon, though
the day was two hours dead; while higher
up it faded into tawny saffron that was
lost in the gloom of the zenith. The wind
in the roadside trees, the darkness the at
mospheric phenomena, and my own dis
| turbed mental condition. inspired me- with
sort of horror. For an instance Thought
Of retracing my steps, then fear vanished,
and turning my back upon the homes and
| lights and bells beyond the hill, stumbled
on over the dusty road that stretched
darkly before me.
My flight came to an end only when
church, my hands cut and bleeding from
wounds made by broken glass in forcing an
| entrance The feeble remnant OF scat
tered sect had long ago given the structure
ever to decay; the voice Of exhortationand
OF sacred song had been hushed; the pulpit
| was now white monument Of desolaion
| while the keyboard Of the crumbling organ
was the playground Of an army of rats.r I
In the open space before the altar n
placed the pulpit desk. By the faint light
of the night lamp traced, on the baro oak
floor, a circle with water taken from run
ming stream that had crossed. CoHorm-
ing closely to the instructions in the 5roek
manuscript, which l had brought with me,
and standing within the halo Of reliance
cast by the light inside the circle pre-
pared for the ordeal In an unsteay voice
l repeated the first words of the .ncanta-
ton.
waited an instant, but there WIS no re-
Spouse. Moistening my dry lips, l uttered
the second call in a irmer voice.
Then strange thing happned. The
flame OF the night lamp lengtheled beyond
the chimney-top, remained smikeless for
an instant, and then slowly rsumed its
normal height repeated the words and
the flames rose and fell three lines. The
sense Of dread and fear deserted me. l
grew holder as the words of the Creek
priestess fell from my tongu; my pulse
beat strongly; my every facility seemed
endowed with abnormal vigor and every
drop of blood impelled from ny heart was
filled with new life.
Suddenly there came the rustling of gar
ments and the sound of footballs just be-
yond the circle; whisper floated from the
oh off md IF arIy, lou
sweet melody broke from the ghostly or
gan pipes. Spirit fingers swept the keys,
until, under the magic touch, they made
the music Of a march, to whose deep dia-
pason, magnified thousand fold in echoes,
an unseen army marshaled. A multitude
Of eyes looked down upon me from the
space beyond the organ.
The lamp upon the pulpit desk burned
with wonderful brilliancy now. The bare
church walls had disappeared to give way
to limitless space peopled with the ele-
mental host that had summoned. Gray
shadows grouped themselves beyond the
circle; they were indistinct, and the facial
lines OF the strangely-hooded creation
seemed to blend with the surrounding
ether. 1t was a mighty, voiceless host.
The triumphal tones of the organ ceased;
but for an instant, however, and then they
swelled forth again But there was a
break in the wonderful harmony. The I'M
seen hands that struck the keys faltered,
struggled vainly to catch the lost chord in
the majestic march, then, in an agony Of
despair, made discord, deviish in its
eerie wildness, and the music sank lower
and lower until, brokenly, it ended in a
moan.
The same dread that held me when l
stood on the hillside beyond the village
lights seized me now as the organ stopped
In the distance l saw, between double lines
of elementals, a disk appear. From the
dull color of Roman gold it faded into
pale pink; then it took form, face was
nodded in its uncertain light as it drew
near, and then-oh, God! l saw beyond
the circle, my counterpart, my double, my
astral self, standing with outstretched
arms and staring, sightless eyes appealing
to me for help!
1t was more than my brain could endure.
A fearful weight was pressing on my
temples; the Greek manuscript fell from
my hand and / CROPPED blindly for support
l felt that was falling, sparks of fire
flashed before my eyes; then all was dark.
X X
The statement of the faithful nurse in
Ward of st. GATHERINGS Hospital is cor
roborated by the resident physician, that
for seven weeks l struggled between life
and death during an attack Of brain fever
AT the end of that time l awakened to con-
seriousness to find the range of my vision
filled with faint opalescent light l was
totally blind. Three fingers of my left
hand had also been amputated at the second
joint the result of severe burn the hos
pital people said. When | grew strong
enough DR.. Weyman, the resident physi-
clan, read to me this note:
II followed and reached you just in time.
l secured both original and translation.
BY the time you are able to read this-if
you ever dol shall be on the Pacific. The
money is subject to your order in the bank
at M. Your left hand fell partly outside
the circle. DR.. MAx"-G. ". Mccain, IN Pitts
6urgh Bulletin.
Too Much Enthusiasm.